I truly believe that in the tech field the absolute need for a degree is not there. The reason I say this (beyond just knowing a ton of people in the field without a degree), is that the results are so black and white in this field. You either can do a job or you can't. There isn't a lot of grey area and if you can demonstrate you have the knowledge and the skills to solve an employer's problem, that is all you need. In that sense what you need is PROOF of this ability to solve the problem. A degree is one of those proofs, but there are many others like, projects, past experience, certifications, etc.